Reunions & Relapses
by Cuda77
Summary: After 30 years, William Winger finally returns into his son's life and wants to meet up for dinner. Not knowing what to do, Jeff seeks out Annie for help, not knowing that what will happen at dinner will forever affect their lives and their relationship together forever. Jeff/Annie. M rating is for last chapter only.
1. Chapter 1

**Community and everything to do with it does not belong to me. I'm just writing this for fun and have little to no money so suing me over it really wouldn't accomplish anything.**

It was an unseasonably chilly late autumn night in Greendale, Colorado as Jeff Winger trudged alone through the quiet city streets. He shivered slightly and pulled his very fashionable wool trenchcoat tighter against his body as he walked. He had spent the night at his favorite bar, L Street, but closing time had come and Jeff needed somewhere else to go. He was walking instead of driving because he knew he was probably too inebriated to drive and already felt miserable enough without the prospect of spending the rest of the night in jail. So he walked through the campus, hoping that the walk would sober him up a bit. But instead of heading home, he was heading somewhere far more important tonight.

After a few more blocks, Jeff finally reached the apartment complex he was looking for. He smirked to himself as he casually opened the front door still being propped open by a brick after all this time. As he climbed the staircase, Jeff suddenly realized just how late it was and that chances are, he wasn't going to be greeted warmly upon his arrival. But this was something that couldn't wait and once his friends knew why, they'd understand. Finally he came to apartment 303 and rapped on the door. On the other side, Jeff heard some faint rumblings and after a moment, the door opened to reveal a tired, disheveled Britta Perry.

"Jeff," whined Britta, fighting back a yawn, "it's almost 3:00 in the morning. What do you want?"

"I'm really sorry to bother you all at this late hour but I really need to talk to Annie."

"This really can't wait until morning," asked Troy, appearing beside Britta and looking annoyed. He was soon joined by Abed, who on the surface didn't appear to be too put off by Jeff's sudden appearance in the middle of the night. "What is so important that you need to barge in here in the middle of the night just to talk to Annie?"

Jeff reached into the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "This," Jeff replied, handing the paper to Britta. She unfolded it and began to read while Troy and Abed peered over her shoulders to read it themselves. As they read, all three pairs of eyes widened in surprise and then looked back at Jeff, silently nodding in confirmation. Just then, the door to Annie's bedroom opened and she stepped out yawning sleepily.

"Guys, what's going on? Why's everyone up? Is something going on?"

The three at the door stepped aside and let Jeff enter the apartment. Annie squeaked a little bit when she saw Jeff walk in.

"Um, Annie, is it okay if I talk to you in private? It's really important."

"Well, are you sure it can't wait until tomorrow? We've got midterms coming up soon and I really need to get-"

"Annie," Jeff interrupted, "it really can't wait." Even in the dim light coming from the hall, Annie could see the urgency and pain in Jeff's eyes and knew it must be something serious. Annie nodded and beckoned Jeff into her room. Jeff received the piece of paper he'd given Britta and entered into Annie's bedroom, flicking on the light as he walked in. Annie followed closely behind him and closed the door behind them. Jeff sat down heavily on Annie's bed and stared at the floor while Annie remained at the door, trying to get herself fully awake so she could try to help Jeff as best as possible. She had never seen him like this before. He looked so fragile and vulnerable and knew that something must really be wrong for him to want to involve someone else because Jeff usually just tried to work through his problems on his own with a lot of help from expensive booze.

"What happened Jeff? Is everything okay?" Annie asked delicately, trying to be as gentle as possible to make sure Jeff felt safe.

"I got a letter from my father," Jeff replied, not taking his eyes off of the floor.

"What? Oh my god, what did he say?"

Jeff continued to stare at the floor and didn't give her an answer. Instead he just flicked his wrist up to display the paper he still had clenched between his fingers. Annie took the paper from him and opened it up to indeed find a letter from Jeff's estranged father.

_"Dear Jeff,_

_Suffice to say, I was quite surprised when I got your letter. After thirty years, I'd have figured you'd have just written me out of your life and pretended like I never existed. Not that I could have blamed you one bit for that due to me making no effort to include myself in your life. Cutting you and your mother out of my life was difficult and is something I regret but at the time I felt it was necessary and no matter how much I wanted to try and reconnect with you, I could never bring myself to do it. Until your call, that is. I would love to have the chance to meet up with you to talk at some point. I was planning on visiting Denver next weekend to go skiing and was hoping the two of us could maybe meet for dinner. I've made reservations at Rioja for Saturday night and would really like you to join me so we can chat and catch up._

_Yours,_

_William Winger"_

Annie swallowed hard as she finished reading the letter. Peering over the top of the paper, she saw Jeff still sitting slouched over on her bed, his face completely blank as he looked at one spot on her floor. She set the letter on top of her dresser and slowly walked over to Jeff and sat down beside him, never taking her eyes off of him, looking for any sort of reaction from him.

"Jeff?" Annie asked softly as she put her hand on his. As she said it, she saw Jeff's mouth twitch and then a single tear rolled out of the corner of his eye and down his nose. Within a few seconds, Jeff broke down completely and started sobbing loudly. Annie quickly wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, feeling her camisole getting damp from Jeff's tears. She gently stroked his hair and back, trying to soothe Jeff as he shook in her arms. Over Jeff's crying, Annie heard a creak and saw her door open as Troy, Abed and Britta looked in. Troy wrote something on the whiteboard usually attached to the refrigerator and held it up for Annie to see.

"Is everything okay?"

Annie shook her head and jerked her head down to indicate the crying Jeff to them. The three in the doorway traded worried looks before Troy erased the message and wrote a new one.

"Be sure to let us know if you need anything. We're all worried about Jeff too."

Annie nodded and mouthed to them, "He'll be fine." Satisfied, the group slowly closed Annie's door again and she once again turned her focus to Jeff, still sobbing his eyes out. After a few minutes, Jeff had cried himself out and sat back up. Annie offered him a tissue from her nightstand which he gratefully took and blew his nose loudly into. The noise made Annie giggle despite herself.

"Well, it's nice to see that you find my emotional trauma humorous," Jeff said in a mock-offended tone that Annie saw right through.

"Sorry, it's really late at night and I'm still tired and a little delirious so things are funny to me. Speaking of, why did you wait until now to come over?"

"Well, when I got the letter, I thought the most logical thing to do would be to pretend it didn't exist and try to use alcohol to make that easier. So I went to L Street and started drinking. But then closing time rolled around and all drinking had done was made me realize that I really needed to talk to somebody about this. And I couldn't think of anyone better than you." Annie smiled at that, knowing that it was probably the alcohol causing him to say that but it was still a nice compliment anyway.

"Jeff, that's awfully nice but why would I make the best choice?"

"Because you know what it's like to have a parent abandon you," Jeff answered, looking up at her for the first time since sitting down on her bed as he said it, his face more serious than Annie had ever seen from him. Annie's face fell as the painful memories of just a few years ago came flooding back but she swallowed hard and fought back the pain because Jeff needed her to be strong for him right now.

"Yes, that's true, I do," said Annie, looking away from Jeff so he wouldn't see tears welling up in her eyes.

"You understand better than anybody else I know just how screwed up it can make someone and how conflicting it is to now have the person who abandoned you suddenly want you back in their life, don't you?"

"I do understand Jeff," whispered Annie, returning to look at him and seeing just how scared he looked. "You can tell me anything and I'll help in any way I can."

"I just don't know what to do about this. I mean, when I wrote that letter, I never figured I'd actually get a reply from him. I haven't gotten so much as a birthday card or Christmas present or any acknowledgment that I even existed from this man in over 30 years so why would I expect he'd suddenly acknowledge me now? But now he's contacted me and wants to meet with me and I don't know what I'm going to do Annie. What should I do?"

"Honestly Jeff, I think you should go. I know how scary facing your past can be but if you can, I know it'll make you a stronger person."

"How will it do that?" Jeff asked, sounding genuinely curious and not sarcastic like he normally would have asked that question.

"Because I do that every day Jeff. Here, let me show you something I've never shown anybody before." Annie got up from her bed and grabbed her purse. She dug around inside of it for a moment before pulling out a prescription pill bottle. "This was the last bottle of Adderall I was prescribed before my breakdown. I only took a couple of them and they're the ones that caused me to freak out. Since I finished rehab, I've carried these around with me every day to remind myself of just how far I've come since then and how much better my life has gotten. I look at these pills ever day and remind myself that they are in my past and I don't need them anymore because I am stronger now without them. And I think that if you can manage to face your dad, you'll become stronger too." Jeff mulled this around in his head before nodding and wrapping Annie up in a hug.

"Okay Annie, I'll do it. But could you please do me one favor?"

"Anything for you Jeff."

"Would you please come with me for this? It'll make me feel a whole lot better and more comfortable about doing this if I have you with me for support."

Annie was stunned by this and stammered a bit to herself in shock before composing herself again and replying with, "Of course Jeff, it would be my honor to accompany you."

Jeff smiled for the first time since he got to the apartment and kissed Annie on the top of her head, sending shivers all through her body. Jeff pulled her down on her bed and continued holding her, finally feeling some relief for the first time since that afternoon when he'd found the letter in the mail.

"You're the best, Annie," mumbled Jeff sleepily as he cuddled closer against her. Annie could tell that Jeff must be real drunk since normally he was not the snuggling type but she was feeling too much bliss to really care at the moment. Within a few minutes, she heard Jeff lightly snoring and realized that he wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon. So Annie simply snuggled deeper into Jeff's chest and listened to the soft beating of his heart as she dozed back off to sleep herself with the knowledge that next weekend, she had a pseudo-date with Jeff Winger to be excited for.


	2. Chapter 2

**Community and everything to do with it does not belong to me. I'm just writing this for fun and have little to no money so suing me over it really wouldn't accomplish anything.**

_Now entering Denver_

The sun was just beginning to set behind the mountains as Jeff and Annie arrived within the Denver city limits. The week had seemed to pass by too quickly for Jeff's tastes as there were no real conflicts or crises to distract him from reuniting with his father tonight. Jeff suspected the group had informed each other of just what was going on and decided to make things easier on Jeff for the week since he was already stressed. Even Dean Pelton was surprisingly normal all week and didn't stop by in any outrageous outfits or have any ridiculous requests for the study group. Weirdest of all, he only felt Jeff's chest once all week and that was when he popped by on Monday to ask how their weekend was. Things were definitely amiss all week and Jeff had no outlet from this dinner.

He had spent the entire day stressing out in his apartment, trying to pick the right outfit to wear. He wasn't sure if he should be too formal or too casual and subsequently spent the entire morning trying out every suit, pair of designer jeans, tie, sweater and even shoe combination he owned. Finally, he remembered he was going out to one of the nicest restaurants in Denver and decided formal was the best so he chose his nicest suit five minutes after he was supposed to pick up Annie. When he arrived at Casa De Trobrittanniebed (hoping no one else took up residence in the apartment because the name kept getting sillier and sillier), Annie was waiting for him in a gorgeous purple cocktail dress that hugged each and every one of her curves to perfection and one of her trademark cardigans to protect against the cold. As she hopped in Jeff's Lexus, she let out a brilliant smile and had to remind Jeff that they were running late in order to get him to take his eyes off of her.

The trip had passed mostly in silence, as per Jeff's wishes. He knew he'd need some words of encouragement along the trip but didn't want to get them until he was closer and had less chance to back out. Annie didn't seem to mind and spent their time together watching the lovely scenery go by as this was probably the last weekend the trees would be holding leaves and so the fall colors were in full peak. She also grabbed onto Jeff's right hand and held it for the length of the trip, except when he needed to make a turn. Jeff seemed to appreciate this since Annie could detect the faintest hint of a smile every time their hands reconnected. But for the rest of the time, he was emotionless, locked up inside of his own head, worrying about what was going to happen tonight

Part of him simply wanted to take Pierce's advice he'd received on Friday and walk in there, look his dad squarely in the eye and punch him in the face. And while his father certainly would deserve it, Jeff actually felt compelled to hear him out. After all, it had been thirty years since he'd had any degree of contact from the man; clearly something was different now and he wanted to find out what it was. Jeff knew he wouldn't be following Britta's advice to blow him off because of how fathers only exist to further enforce the patriarchal society and that they were unnecessary in this day and age, nor Shirley's to invite him to church the next day so God could forgive him for all of his sins of neglect and abandonment. Troy and Abed were mostly worried about William asking Jeff to turn to the dark side so together they could rule the galaxy as father and son. But Jeff decided he was going to follow the advice of the one person whose opinion he truly cared about for this and that was Annie's to just go in there, have dinner and see where it takes him.

Finally Jeff and Annie arrived at Rioja a few minutes later than planned. William was likely already inside waiting for him. Jeff parked the car and turned the engine off, leaving him and Annie in complete silence. Annie noticed that Jeff appeared to be in no hurry to get out of the car and actually enter the restaurant. She knew that he was likely a hurricane of emotions right now and any force from her to get in there would likely do more harm than good. Instead, she just squeezed his hand tightly and leaned up to give him a kiss on his scruffy cheek.

"It's okay Jeff. I'm here for you," she whispered softly into his ear. "We can go in whenever you're ready. I'll be right beside you the whole time."

Jeff glanced down at her and was greeted with one of Annie's legendary Disney faces. Feeling a rush of confidence that he knew wouldn't last long, Jeff nodded, took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. Like a true gentlemen, he rushed over to Annie's side and opened her door for her and offered his hand to assist her in getting out. Annie giggled at the sudden chivalry from Jeff but took his hand and looped her arm through his. Arm in arm, the two entered the restaurant and were greeted by the maitre d.

"Hello, I'm dining with William Winger."

"Of course sir, he is at Table 37. Would you like me to accompany you?"

"No thank you, I'm sure I'll be able to find him."

The maitre d gave a small bow and beckoned Jeff and Annie into the restaurant. After scanning through the tables for a moment, Jeff's eyes fell on a middle-aged man sitting in a booth with a familiar prominent forehead and sharp jawline. Jeff swallowed hard as for the first time in 30 years, he set his eyes on William Winger. He started to panic a little bit but Annie just held onto him tighter and walked slowly towards the table, dragging Jeff along with her. When the two reached the table, Annie nudged Jeff in the side with her elbow and Jeff cleared his throat.

"William Winger?" The man looked up from his menu and a smile crossed his weathered face.

"Jeffery. How good to finally see you again after all these years. I'm so glad you decided to come. And my, oh, my, who is this gorgeous young thing with you?"

"Hello, I'm Annie Edison," Annie replied, extending her hand which William shook and kissed for dramatic effect. "I'm a good friend of Jeff's from school."

"Delighted to meet you my dear. I suppose I should introduce my date tonight as well," indicating a woman sitting next to him who Jeff and Annie had not noticed initially. "This is my lovely wife Katherine."

"It's nice to meet you Ka-MOM?!"

The woman lowered her menu and locked eyes with Annie, a look so icy on her face that Jeff felt himself shiver involuntarily. Annie simply looked horrorstruck as she stared at her mother.

"Hello Anne," Katherine said stiffly.

"Wait a minute, did she call you 'Mom'? Katherine, you never told me you had a daughter," William said severely, clearly sensing trouble.

"And up until a few weeks ago, you never mentioned you had a son either. But I can't imagine why you'd want to reconnect with him," said Katherine, turning to look directly at Annie before finishing her sentence. "Especially since he appears to have such horrible taste in friends since he's with my no-good daughter."

Annie broke down at this and ran from the restaurant sobbing hysterically. Jeff went to go after her but was stopped in his tracks by Katherine saying, "Let her go boy. She's prone to episodes like this and isn't worth the trouble."

"I'm lost here. Just what the hell is going on?" Jeff demanded, growing more and more angry with every passing moment

"Well, Katherine and I met while we were both vacationing in the Hamptons three summers ago and we were married last year. We both realized we came from Colorado and wanted to spend some time going around the places we came from."

"That's just spectacular," Jeff said acidly, feeling his face get very hot as his temper was rising. "I wish the two of you nothing but happiness together. I'm assuming it won't be too difficult since I can clearly see what drew you two to each other. After all, it isn't every day you meet somebody who also turned their back on their children, THE THING THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO MATTER MORE THAN ANYTHING IN YOUR LIVES!"

Without caring that the entire restaurant was now staring at him for his outburst, Jeff grabbed William and Katherine's wine glasses and threw them both in their faces before turning on his heel and storming away from their table. Jeff faintly heard William trying to call him back but heard Katherine tell him to let him go and he's better off without him. Jeff stomped out of the restaurant, fishing his keys out of his pocket and searching around for Annie, wanting to get the hell away from his father and his new wife as quickly as possible. Finally Jeff spotted Annie sitting on the ground next to his car and felt his body go completely numb as the color drained from his face. In the light of the streetlights, he saw something glinting in her hands that was pointing at her head.

"ANNIE, NO!" Jeff yelled out as he took off running towards her.

_*BANG!*_

Jeff froze as the gunshot rang through the parking lot. Time seemed to stand still as he stared at Annie and watched the gun drop out of her hands. But Annie didn't slump down at all; she stayed sitting upright. Jeff regained control of his brain and took off sprinting to her. When he got there, the first thing he noticed was a large hole in his car door. Much to his relief, Annie had somehow missed, probably due to the violent trembling she was still doing. Jeff noticed her dress was stained with vomit and there was still some traces around her mouth and chin and all of her makeup had run down her face from her crying. As Jeff kneeled down to try to comfort her, he kneeled right onto something hard and plastic beside Annie. He lifted up his knee and retrieved what he kneeled on to discover that it was Annie's bottle of Adderall, now completely empty.

"Oh my god…" Jeff quickly got out his cell phone and dialed 911. "Yes, my name is Jeff Winger and my friend just took about 30 Adderall pills at once. We're currently at Rioja. I need to know where the nearest hospital is."

Jeff listened as the dispatcher informed him of where the nearest hospital was. Jeff thanked them and denied the need for an ambulance before hanging up and scooping up the hysterical Annie into his arms.

"Come on Annie, we've got to get you to a hospital. I'm not going to lose you, you hear me? Please don't leave me now Annie," Jeff begged as he strapped her into the passenger seat. Once she was secured, Jeff scrambled around to the drivers side and jumped into his Lexus. He fired up the engine and tore out of the parking lot, determined to get Annie to a hospital before she OD'ed on the dangerous anti-anxiety medications.


	3. Chapter 3

**Community and everything to do with it does not belong to me. I'm just writing this for fun and have little to no money so suing me over it really wouldn't accomplish anything**

**Also, apologies for posting this so late after my last update. We lost our internet service last week and this has been the first chance I've gotten to get online to post anything. The finale should be up more promptly.**

An hour later, Jeff was sitting in the emergency waiting room at Presbyterian-Saint Luke's Medical Center in Denver. He had gotten Annie to the hospital as quickly as he could but she still passed out during the drive, causing Jeff to miss the turn into the hospital and requiring more time circling back around to the emergency drop off. Since the team of doctors had rushed her away, Jeff had been nervously waiting for a report. He tried to distract himself with his phone but he didn't feel like talking to any of his friends right now and his brain was too distracted for Bejeweled. So instead he spent his time alternating between pacing back and forth and anxiously sitting in a chair near the window.

Jeff couldn't remember a worse night in his life. Sure, the whole Tinkletown incident was quite traumatic and he'd gotten drunker than he'd ever been before in his life the night he found out he'd been disbarred. But tonight was a new, special level of hell that Jeff was in. It was already bad enough that he'd had to lay eyes on the man who'd abandoned him and his mother when he was just a small child. But not only did he have to suffer but his best friend in the world had gotten caught in the crossfire and it was painful enough that she tried to kill herself. If Annie didn't make it, Jeff knew there was no way he'd be able to either. He hoped she was fighting to survive like the Annie he'd grown to know and love in the past three years and that she wasn't going to allow herself to succumb to her demons.

On an impulse, Jeff started dialing a number on his phone. He really couldn't explain why he felt compelled to call this person but he was doing it anyway. After waiting only one ring, the line was answered.

"Hi there Jeffrey," said Dean Pelton excitedly, "Wasn't expecting a call from you tonight. What can I dean for you?" Jeff stammered but couldn't find any words. The dean picked up on this and asked, "Jeff, you sound troubled. Is everything okay? Did your dinner with your dad go badly?"

"Craig, I'm at a hospital right now."

"Oh my god, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, in a manner of speaking. But Annie's not."

"Annie? Why is she there? And more importantly, what happened?"

"I asked her to come with me for moral support because I knew I couldn't will myself to go through with this alone. But when we got there, we met my father's new wife, who turned out to be Annie's estranged mother. And let's just say the reunion was not pleasant. Her mother was very malicious to Annie and so Annie ran out of the restaurant in tears. I put them in their place for being such terrible parents and then went to go find Annie. When I found her, she'd taken an entire bottle of Adderall all at once and tried to shoot herself. Thankfully she missed but she obviously overdosed on the pills and now I'm waiting to hear about her."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line as Dean Pelton struggled to take all of this in.

"Craig, are you still there?"

"Yes, Jeff, I'm here. I'm just…trying to wrap my head around all of this. What about the rest of the group? Have you called talked to them about this?"

"No, I haven't yet. I didn't want to cause any unnecessary worry."

"Well Jeffrey, if what you're telling me is true, Annie's life could be in danger right now. I'm not going to be one to give you advice on friendship but I think that's something necessary to be worried about."

"I know, and I'll talk to them soon. I just…I really needed somebody else to talk to right now. I need somebody who will just let me get this all off my chest to. Because I'm so fucking scared right now."

"I'll bet you are Jeffrey. I'm scared too, for you and for Annie. I'll be happy to listen to you. Go right ahead and get it all out of your system."

"Thanks. Right now, I'm just so afraid that I'm going to lose her. Especially since this whole thing is all my fault."

"Whoa, Jeffrey, stop right there. This is not your fault. If anything, it sounds like this is her mother's fault for being so cruel."

"That may be true but she wouldn't have seen her mother tonight if it wasn't for me. Annie wouldn't be in this hospital if I hadn't asked her to come with me tonight. Or hell, if I hadn't written to my father in the first place. What was I thinking? I should have known that inviting him back into my life would be nothing but a lot of pain."

"Jeff, listen to me, okay? I understand that you're probably going through one of the worst nights of your life right now. But the fact is, Annie made this choice to go with you herself. She wanted to help you out in your time of need because she's your friend and she loves you like family. And neither of you could have predicted that you'd come across her mother there. So even though this has been a rather shocking turn of events that's happened tonight, I don't think blame can be assigned to anyone."

"I know, I'm just being stupid," Jeff sighed as he sat down heavily in a chair near a large aquarium with exotic-looking fish. "But I just can't shake the thought of what might happen if the doctors can't help her in time. I'll never forgive myself if we lose her without her knowing how I feel."

"And how do you feel Jeffrey?"

"I need Annie in my life. Just like I need Britta and Troy and Abed and Shirley and even Pierce because they've all made me better than I ever thought I could be. But Annie especially. She's always been there for me and always cared for me and wanted to help me and tried to make me the best person possible. She never gave up on me no matter how rotten I was and without her I never would have had the courage to agree to meet my dad tonight or even contact him in the first place. But even though she's helped me be more courageous, I'm still a huge coward since I haven't had the balls to tell her any of this. And now I may never get to tell her."

"Yes, you will Jeff," the dean insisted. "Annie's one of the most ruthless fighters I've ever met and I know she's going to fight this just as hard as she does to keep a 4.0. She may have had her world rocked tonight by seeing her mom again and made a rash decision in reaction to it but as long as you're there for her, she's going to keep fighting. Because I'd bet Greendale that she cares for you just as much as you just told me you do for her. So when you're allowed to go in and see her, you make sure you let her know you're there and you want her to keep fighting."

"I will. Thanks Craig."

"Sure thing, Jeff, I'm glad I could help out even just a little bit. I probably shouldn't keep you occupied any longer, though, so I'll let you go. But please let me know about Annie and if she'll be okay."

"Of course. I'll update you as soon as I hear anything. See you on Monday, Dean."

With that, Jeff hung up his phone, actually feeling a little bit better. Granted, he was still scared to death about Annie and if she'd be okay or not but he knew that the dean was right when he'd said how much of a fighter Annie was. Sometimes it really did take Jeff aback with just how much Annie had already been through in her 21 years alive. She'd definitely had one of the roughest lives Jeff had ever come across and he'd seen the bottom of the barrel during his days as a lawyer. But Annie was different from all of them because she'd dug in deep and managed to pull herself out of the hell she'd experienced growing up. But then that hell had come back in a brutal way tonight and all the progress she'd made was ripped right out from under her. However, this time she wouldn't be fighting alone to get things back to some degree of normalcy. Jeff wasn't going to abandon her like her mother had and just leave her to the world; he intended to be right there by her side for this struggle.

"Mr. Winger?"

Jeff looked up to see a doctor standing in front of him. From his expression, Jeff couldn't tell if he was here to deliver positive or negative news.

"That's me. How's Annie? Is she going to make it? Will she be okay?"

"Miss Edison should be okay. You're lucky that you got her here as quick as you did before any serious damage was done. We've pumped her stomach to get as much of the drugs out of her system as we could. She's resting now and will need to spend the night here just for precautionary measures."

"Oh, thank god," Jeff said, breathing a huge sigh of relief. "When can I go in and see her?"

"Well she'll probably be out for the rest of the night so I'd recommend you find someplace to stay for the night. We have your information and will contact you if anything-"

"With all due respect, sir," Jeff said as he got to his feet, not satisfied one bit with the doctor's answer, "I would like to be there when she wakes up. She's probably going to be very scared when she wakes up and I want her to know that I'm there for her. So I don't care if I have to sleep on the floor by her bed, I'm going to stay with her."

"Suit yourself," the doctor replied, rolling his eyes indignantly. "She's in room A113." The doctor then walked away, muttering to himself. Jeff gathered up his things and headed off to Annie's room, hoping she would awaken sooner rather than later so he'd know she was okay.


	4. Chapter 4

**Community and everything to do with it does not belong to me. I'm just writing this for fun and have little to no money so suing me over it really wouldn't accomplish anything**

**My internet is back up and running so we should be finishing things off shortly here. After thinking about it, I've decided to split my last segment into two chapters. So this is not the finale as I said it would be in the last chapter. But we're getting there!**

It was well past midnight and Jeff was trying his best to relax in Annie's hospital room. He sat in a decently comfortable chair near the window as he absent-mindedly watched a Law & Order marathon on USA. But his focus wasn't on the show but instead on the young woman asleep in the bed next to him. Jeff wasn't usually one to be so catty but he couldn't shake the feeling of just how terrible Annie looked right now. The normally bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked ray of sunshine had morphed into someone who looked very pale, gaunt and frail who looked about twenty years older than her age. It nearly broke Jeff's heart to see her like this when he first walked into her room and a fresh wave of guilt slammed into him for bringing her to this state. But he remembered his talk with the dean and quickly shook those thoughts off. He then fulfilled his promise to the dean and went over to Annie, took her hand in his and told her he was there and he wanted her to stay strong for him and that he wasn't going to leave until she came back to him.

As the hours wore on, though, Jeff's stomach demanded to have a say in that decision since Jeff hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning and he was starving. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and headed to the local Wal-Mart for some supplies. He grabbed some snacks for himself and also some different clothes to change into since he was pretty sure he was going to be in for a long night and didn't want to spend all this time in his nice suit. Jeff also grabbed a change of clothes for Annie since he knew that she wouldn't want to put her vomit-stained dress back on when they eventually went home. Now ready to weather a long, restless night, Jeff headed back to the hospital.

Around midnight, the study group started trying to contact Jeff en masse wondering what was going on since they hadn't heard from him or Annie all night and were starting to get worried. Even though he really didn't want to, Jeff called them all on a conference call and filled them in on what was going on. As he figured, none of them took it well at all. But Jeff had managed to convince all of them that he was there for her and making sure she was being taken care of and that there was no need for all of them to make the long drive to Denver. Eventually they all relented and agreed that right now was probably not wise for any of them to make that kind of drive but made Jeff swear on his life that he would keep them updated on her condition. After promising to do just that, they all bid Jeff a good night and offered their condolences for his terrible night.

Now Jeff was just sitting alone with nothing to occupy his mind except for late-night TV. As much as he really wanted to sleep, he knew that he was far too stressed out worrying about Annie to be able to get some rest. Not finding anything that caught his interest, Jeff switched off the TV and then the room was quiet with the exception of Annie's heart monitor beeping softly as it kept her pulse. Part of why Jeff was so anxious is because he just felt so helpless; other than sitting by her side and urging the sleeping woman every now to come back to him, there was nothing he could do to help. He always felt a surge of hope anytime a doctor or nurse came in to check on her but they always came and went without saying anything so he had no idea if Annie was getting better or worse.

Not knowing what else to do, Jeff got out of his chair and sank to his knees right next to Annie's bed. He clasped his hands together and looked up to the ceiling and said, "God, I really don't know if you're out there or not. And if you are, then you've probably got far more important things to worry about right now, especially since I haven't exactly been somebody deserving of having their prayers answered. But it would really mean a lot to me if you could take just a little bit of time from the starving kids in Africa or the soldiers in Iraq or the lonely high school boys who really want to bang that hottie in math class and hear my prayer. Please God, save my friend Annie. She means everything to me and if I lost her, it would completely ruin me. I already got screwed up pretty badly by my father when he left and Annie means more to me than 5 million of him. I need Annie in my life and all of her friends need her in theirs too. So please, don't take her away from us like this." Jeff then finished by crossing himself but then had a realization right after he did. "Oh, and if you happen to not be Shirley's God, well then, yeah, just forget that last part there." Now sure that he'd done all he could, Jeff curled up in his chair, draped his suit jacket over himself as a makeshift blanket and finally managed to doze off to sleep.

After a few hours of restless sleep, Jeff finally woke up to find Annie sitting up in bed eating breakfast. Jeff rubbed his eyes a few times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating seeing her awake but there she was, looking at him like a sad puppy that got caught chewing on Jeff's slippers. Jeff suddenly found it very hard to breathe as he scrambled out of his chair and wrapped Annie in a tight hug. Annie gingerly hugged him back as best as she could while still being hooked up to all of the various monitors and tubes. Unable to keep his emotions at bay, Jeff found himself sobbing happily into Annie's hair and could faintly hear her doing the same thing against his chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Annie blubbered out over and over again.

"Shh, it's okay now. It's all going to be okay. I'm just so glad you're alive."

After a few moments, the two relinquished their embrace and settled back into their respective seats. Jeff pulled his chair right next to Annie's bed so he could hold onto her free hand while she ate.

"How long have you been awake," asked Jeff softly, mildly disappointed that he hadn't been awake for the moment but moreso just glad she was awake at all.

"Since dawn. I saw you sleeping and didn't want to wake you," Annie whispered hoarsely. "The doctors told me you were up all night sitting there, worrying about me and I figured you could use as much sleep as possible."

"I appreciate your concern," replied Jeff as he offered her a small smile and rested his forehead against Annie's hand. Annie slid her hand around to the back of Jeff's head and lightly stroked his hair and scratched the back of his neck. "But I think you're the one far more in need of concern. How are you feeling? Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so. I feel like shit right now, though." Jeff's eyes popped open at that since it was so unusual to hear Annie curse. "But it sounds like I'll be allowed to be discharged today. They just want to monitor me for a couple more hours to make sure there's no lingering side effects."

"That's good to know. I'll be sure to let the group know that."

"They already know. I texted them about a half hour ago after they nearly blew up my phone last night."

"Oh, okay, good thinking on your part."

There was an awkward pause after this as the two struggled to come up with something to talk about. Jeff's heart was screaming at him to stop wasting time and tell her how he felt already but his brain was trying to keep it in check by advising him to wait until they were out of this stressful situation since Annie was already dealing with a lot of things right now and didn't need him dumping his feelings all over her to add to it.

"What happened to your suit?" Annie asked as she indicated the long-sleeve t-shirt and jeans Jeff was currently wearing.

"It's in my car. I felt weird sitting around here in a suit all night so I went and got a change of clothes. I picked some up for you too so you don't have to wear your dress again."

"Oh, thanks." Something was clearly troubling Annie but Jeff didn't want to press the issue. He was going to leave it up to her to decide when she wanted to talk about whatever was on her mind at the moment. Instead, Jeff focused on how Annie's hand felt as it continued to rub his neck and he thought about how lucky he was that he was feeling this at the moment. He came so close just over twelve hours ago to losing Annie forever and never getting to see her again. Or look into her piercing blue eyes. Or hear her "Aww!" about something cute. Or wrinkle her nose when she was studying. Or feel her reassuring touches when he was feeling nervous about something. Jeff's stomach lurched and he closed his eyes tight. He told himself to stop thinking about those things because Annie was fine and she wasn't going to die now so there's no sense in worrying about it anymore.

"You okay?" Annie asked him concernedly, noticing him grimace.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I was just thinking about last night.

"Oh, that. Listen, Jeff, I'm sorry for what-"

"No," Jeff said, stopping her, "we don't need to talk about that right now. We're both going through a lot right now and talking about what happened seems like too much to handle for me right now. I promise we'll discuss it soon but right now I'd prefer not to relive it if it's all right with you."

Annie simply nodded and the two spent the next few minutes in silence with Annie continuing to pet Jeff while Jeff stroked her arm. Eventually, a nurse came in to check on Annie and see how she was handling her breakfast. Annie reported that things seemed to be settling well and the nurse informed her that she should be able to leave relatively soon then. For some reason, Jeff's stomach lurched at that news as well. He couldn't explain why but the prospect of going back home suddenly sounded terrifying to him. But before he knew it, they were back in his Lexus and heading out of Denver back to Greendale. Once again, Annie held his hand the entire trip and all Jeff could focus on the entire trip was how much he didn't want her to let go. Even when they stopped for lunch at Subway, Jeff felt hollow while Annie was busy with her sandwich because she wasn't holding onto him. It was kind of freaking Jeff out a little bit just how much he felt like he not only needed Annie to be with him but also to be in contact with him.

Later that day, the two finally arrived back in Greendale. As much as Jeff wanted to put this entire weekend behind him, he was dreading actually dropping Annie back off with Troy, Abed and Britta. He couldn't understand why, though, since they were all friends and he knew they would make sure she was taken care of and that nothing bad happened to her. But the more Jeff thought about being without Annie, the more scared he got about being without her, especially since he still hadn't told her about how he felt yet. So when they pulled up to the apartment building and Annie nervously thanked Jeff for taking care of her and kissed him goodbye on the cheek and told him she'd see him tomorrow at school, Jeff suddenly panicked. Annie got out of the car and was just opening the front door when Jeff scrambled out of the car.

"Annie, wait, don't go yet," Jeff called as he tried to get to her before she went inside. Annie obliged his request and stood on the stoop looking concerned. "Listen, I know this is probably going to sound really weird and a little bit crazy but would you mind staying at my place tonight? I'm just…I'm still really freaked out about last night and right now I really am scared to be without you right now. I mean, I know you'll be fine and that everyone here will take care of you but I just really don't think I can deal with being all alone right now after what happened."

Annie stood there flabbergasted, completely taken aback by Jeff's request. But even though it was certainly strange, she could see the agitation and fear all over Jeff's face and knew he was being sincere with her about being freaked out by her leaving. Annie decided she'd put Jeff through enough emotional turmoil for a lifetime and reached out to grab his hand once again. "Sure Jeff, I suppose that's no problem. But, do you mind if I run in real quick to grab some necessities?"

Jeff breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her tight against him. Now comforted by the fact that Annie wasn't going to leave him just yet, he motioned for her to go inside and he headed back to his car to wait. When he got inside, Jeff reclined back and wondered just what in the hell was wrong with him. He was supposed to be above this sort of thing by this point in his life. Jeff couldn't help feeling like he was five again and running crying into his mom's bedroom in the middle of the night after having a scary dream or there was a loud thunderstorm outside. So why now was this feeling back and for Annie? No matter how many times he desperately tried to remind himself that she was fine and that she didn't actually die and it was extremely unlikely that she would tonight, he couldn't make himself relax about it and stop worrying. He was momentarily snapped out of it when Annie climbed back into the car, now dressed in one of her usual outfits and carrying an overnight bag and her backpack. She flashed Jeff a smile so dazzling that Jeff couldn't help reciprocating as he pulled away from the curb.

"So, did they have any issues with this," Jeff asked.

"Troy seemed kind of put off by it but Abed and Britta seemed to get it or something and let me go with their blessing. I kind of figured Abed would understand since he's Abed and all. But I was stunned at how little resistance Britta put up about it. I was expecting some big lecture about what a pig you are and to always keep my drink covered with my hand or stuff like that. But she just kind of smiled and told me to go. So I don't know what that was all about."

"Yeah, that is kind of strange. Usually Britta jumps at the chance to talk about what a douche I apparently am. It's actually kind of weird not having her blast me."

"I think she just understands that the two of us have been through one of the worst nights ever and didn't want to add anything onto that right now."

"Yeah, maybe," muttered Jeff as he made his way back home. When they got there, Jeff once again acted the gentleman and opened Annie's door for her. He also grabbed her overnight bag and slung it over his shoulder as the two climbed the stairs. Annie was anxious to be in Jeff's apartment since she'd never been there before and wasn't quite sure what to expect. Knowing Jeff and his reputation, she half-expected to be greeted by a harem of young, gorgeous, barely dressed women who would wait on Jeff hand and foot. But she was surprised to find just how plain it was there. Gray walls with no art or pictures, couch, coffee table, HDTV, broken lamp next to the door and that was it. Jeff gave her a brief, 30 second tour since that's all the tiny space really required before Jeff sunk down onto the couch and offered Annie to join him. She did and he put his arm around her and pulled her close against him. Annie tucked herself against Jeff's chest and the two sat there in silence for quite some time.

"So," Jeff finally said, breaking the silence so suddenly that Annie jumped a little bit,"should we talk about this?"

"Okay," Annie replied, sitting up and looking a little disappointed she had to leave the comfort of Jeff's embrace. But Jeff kept holding tightly onto her hand as he looked at her with the same expression he'd been wearing when he came to her apartment one week ago with the letter from his father. "Should we have some drinks first so we can open up better?"

"No, I want to be completely sober when I say this so you know that it's really me talking and I'm not being influenced by anything." This made Annie nervous since she wasn't expecting any gigantic bombshells to be dropped on her tonight and wondered what Jeff could have up his sleeve. "There's about a million things I feel like I have to say right now," continued Jeff, "but the thing I think needs to be asked above all else is why did you do it?"

"I honestly don't know why. I mean one minute I'm totally fine and the next I'm trying to off myself. I mean, seeing my mom and hearing just how little she felt of me hurt a lot but it shouldn't have driven me that far. But it really did hurt to hear that she's not even acknowledging my existence anymore and that she thinks I'm good for nothing." Annie started to sniffle a little bit and Jeff squeezed her hand harder to let her know he was still there for her. "I guess I always believed at some point I'd go back to her and show her what a success I've become and she'd be proud of me and take me back. But I can see that's never going to happen now. No matter what, she'll always be disappointed by me and ashamed of me and embarrassed by me." Annie couldn't keep her tears at bay any longer and she shook with tiny sobs. Jeff took this as a cue to wrap his arms back around her and hug her close against him once again. "But the thing that really sucks is that now I can never be together with you because of her."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, back up for a second. What now? Why can't you and I ever be together because of her?"

"Well, you and I are half-siblings now. If we got together, it'd be some crazy form of incest and our relationship would be totally screwed up."

"Annie, look at me," Jeff requested. Annie let out a few more sniffles but obliged. "As far as I'm concerned, those two people we saw in that restaurant invalidated their positions as our family the moment they decided to abdicate their responsibilities and remove us from their lives. They ceased to be our parents and so them getting married to each other has no bearings whatsoever on our future since they decided they didn't want to be a part of it. If you ask me, my dad's been dead for thirty years since he decided I wasn't important enough to be in his life. Well, now I'm deciding him and his bride aren't important enough to be recognized in mine so incest is not an excuse for us not to be together."

"What you're saying makes sense Jeff, but I don't know if I can really think of my mom like that yet. I mean, what you're saying is all completely true but it's just hard for me to let go of my hope that someday she won't be disgusted by me anymore."

"I know that Annie. You're cursed with always trying to find the good in people, no matter how irredeemable they are. And that's probably why you're my best friend because you always manage to find the good in me no matter how deeply I tried to bury it."

Annie blushed as Jeff rumpled her hair playfully. She felt a little better now that she was getting some of this off her chest. "So," she asked, "is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"No, not exactly," Jeff answered, suddenly getting serious again. Once more, he took his arm out from around her and held onto her hands with both of his. He stared at their entwined hands for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking into Annie's eyes. "I'm a very scared person Annie. I know I try to play it off like I'm too cool to care about anything but the truth is that there's a lot of things in my life that scare me to death. I'm scared about what I'm going to do after Greendale, I'm scared of my hair falling out, I'm scared of my body breaking down and dying while I'm still young, I'm scared of becoming Pierce and being lonely and angry and having my friends alienate me because of how uncomfortable I make them and a whole bunch of other things. But one of the big ones has always been to be with you. And the main reason I was scared is because I was scared of ending up like my father and walking out on you. I'm scared of hurting you and breaking you and making you cold and jaded like me. But that all changed last night."

Jeff paused as he thought of what to say next. His eyes once again focused on Annie's hands and how soft and gentle her skin was. Jeff swallowed hard before continuing, knowing there was no going back after this. "Last night was the absolute scariest night of my life, Annie. If you took all the things I'm afraid of and combined them and multiplied that by a million, then you'd get to about how scared I was last night. I was so scared of losing you from my life, especially since I'd never worked up the courage to tell you how I felt about you while you were still here. Last night proved to me that I really can't wait any longer because of how soon something can change and one of us might be gone and that is far scarier to me than any thought of being with you."

Annie could feel her heart hammering against her chest like it had been at the restaurant the night before. She started feeling lightly dizzy and unlaced one of her hands from Jeff's so she could brace herself against the back of the couch. Jeff noticed Annie start to flush and look like she was having difficulty breathing. "Hey, are you okay," he asked her nervously, suddenly scared all over again that he'd cause her to break down again. "Do you need me to get you anything? Should I stop?"

"No, no," Annie insisted hoarsely, shaking her head forcefully. "You can keep going; I'm sure I'll be okay."

Jeff eyed her suspiciously for a few moments before she appeared to regain control of herself again and started to calm down a little. He then reached up with his large hand and slid his hand under her chin to cup her face. Annie shivered and drew in a ragged breath as Jeff gently caressed her jawbone with his thumb and forefinger. He then got nose to nose with her and gazed into her eyes, causing her eyes to flutter as she could feel the intensity coming from them.

"I think after over three years of knowing each other, you've gotten a pretty good idea of what kind of person I am," Jeff continued, still stroking her face as he talked. "And one of the things you probably know best is how little effort I prefer to put into things. And I'm sure you're probably apprehensive about just how much I'd put into a relationship since I can't be arsed to make an effort for damn near anything else. But one thing became perfectly clear to me last night when I walked into your room at the hospital and saw you lying there passed out. I knew right then and there that I was willing to do everything I possibly could to make sure you never ended up there again. I never want to have to see you looking so broken ever again. So I want to try to fill your life with as many smiles and laughs and care and love so that you'll never need to break down that hard again when someone is that cruel to you. Because if someone tries to make you feel worthless, I want you to be able to laugh in their face and tell them exactly how awesome you are and how awesome your life is and they wish they had it as good as you. So, what I'm trying to get at is, would you, Annie Edison, give me the very special honor of letting me be your boyfriend?"

Annie swallowed hard as she felt her entire body tense up. She was pretty sure this is where Jeff had been heading to after talking for the last few minutes but to actually hear him say the words that he wanted to be her boyfriend completely blew Annie away. This was all too much for Annie to handle as she scrunched her eyes closed just as a fresh wave of tears began to leak from them. What scared her the most about it though is that she couldn't tell if she was crying from being so happy or that she was sad. Once again, Jeff wrapped her up in his arms and held her comfortingly while she sobbed. To his credit, Jeff didn't take her sudden outburst as any sort of answer; he knew that right now the two of them were pretty on edge and their emotions were all out of sorts. He just focused on how good she felt against him and tried to keep his breathing regular so she'd have a model to go off of to try to calm down. Finally Annie regained her composure and grabbed a tissue from on Jeff's coffee table. She blew her nose into it loudly, making Jeff chuckle.

"You know something, you were right," he said. "That is an awfully funny sound."

Annie giggled and lightly elbowed Jeff before clearing her throat and looking right at him. "Jeff, what you just told me was probably the nicest, most touching thing anyone's ever said to me. But right now, I don't think I can give you an answer to that. Now that isn't a yes and it's not a no, I just really need to think about this for a little bit. This whole weekend has turned my whole world upside down and I need some time to just take all of this in and sort through it in my head so I can make a good decision. Is that okay?"

"Absolutely it is," answered Jeff enthusiastically, giving her a small kiss on her forehead that made Annie's heart skip a beat. "You go right ahead and take all the time you need think about it. As much as I want to make you happy myself, you just being happy is key for me right now and I don't want to make you feel forced into a situation you wouldn't be comfortable in. What would you like for dinner? I'm in the mood for some Chinese takeout."

Annie nodded confirmation for Jeff's plan and Jeff got up to grab his phone and call in their order. While Jeff was on the phone, Annie excused herself to the bathroom to get herself freshened up from all the crying she'd been doing. After shutting the door behind her and locking it, Annie ran some cold water in the sink and splashed a handful in her face. She dried herself off with one of Jeff's terry cloth towels hanging from the rack next to the shower and then looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and a little swollen from her tears but the rest of her face was unnaturally pale. Annie backed up against the door, took a deep breath and slid down it until she was sitting on the tile floor of the bathroom. She hugged her knees against her chest as her brain swirled, trying to figure out just what exactly she wanted to do in regards to Jeff's proposal. This was the most stressed Annie had been since high school and part of her wished she hadn't taken all of her Adderall last night since she could probably use one right now. But as soon as the thought entered her head, Annie shook her head violently and told herself that she didn't need that anymore and she was stronger than that now and she could handle this. Just then, a loud knock came from the other side of the door and Annie yelped in surprise.

"Annie, are you okay in there? Do you need any help," came Jeff's concerned voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she called back as she got back to her feet and straightened herself out. She then opened the door to find Jeff standing there smiling at her warmly in a way that made Annie weak in the knees. He backed away from the doorframe and beckoned her back into the living room which she did after taking one more moment to bask in the smile Jeff was giving her right then. "Damn him, he is charming," she thought to herself as she strode back into the apartment to wait for their dinner to arrive.


	5. Chapter 5

**Community and everything to do with it does not belong to me. I'm just writing this for fun and have little to no money so suing me over it really wouldn't accomplish anything**

**Well, here it is, the final chapter of this tale. Thank you so much to everyone who's kept reading up to this point and has left such nice reviews. It really does mean a lot that I've been able to entertain all of you with my writing. But enough of the sappy stuff, onto the finale!**

Later that night, Annie was lying alone in Jeff's bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to will herself to fall asleep. The two of them had enjoyed another nice, low-key meal together and afterwards had spent some time playing "You Don't Know Jack!" on Jeff's PlayStation with Annie dominating Jeff in every game, much to Jeff's mock chagrin. But after they'd eaten all the food, both of them admitted they were pretty exhausted already and they decided to turn in early. Jeff claimed the couch for himself and flat out refused to allow Annie to talk him out of letting her use his bed. So the two changed into pajamas, brushed their teeth together and headed for bed.

But even though she felt tired enough to sleep for an entire weekend, Annie's brain couldn't keep quiet over what Jeff had asked her earlier that night. And even though Jeff was right in the next room, less than 50 feet away from where she laid, Annie was feeling very lonely as well. This was the longest the two had been apart all day and not counting the time when she was unconscious, all weekend in general. She had grown used to being around Jeff and seeing his glinting, mischievous eyes and his devilish smile pretty much on demand and was really wishing he could be here with her right now. It was in that moment that Annie realized just how bad it would be if she was at home at her apartment right now. Now Annie was extra glad that she'd decided to come spend the night here and could completely understand the reasons why Jeff had wanted her to stay.

Stifling a yawn with the back of her hand, Annie swung her legs out from under the 1,200 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets on Jeff's bed and to the floor. She rose up to her feet and tiptoed to the door, hoping to get herself a glass of water without disturbing Jeff at all. As quietly as she could, Annie opened the door to Jeff's room and crept down the small hallway back to the main room. But to her surprise, when she got there, Jeff was sitting on the kitchen counter with a gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in his hand and a spoon in the other. But Annie's attention was drawn to Jeff since in the dim light given off by the television, she could see Jeff wasn't wearing his shirt. This caused Annie to let out an embarrassed little squeak just as he took a bite of ice cream. Hearing the noise, Jeff glanced up and discovered Annie standing in the doorway and staring at him with a very prominent blush spreading over her face.

"Oh, um, hey," he stammered out with his mouth full. "Uh, here, let me just get more presentable for you here." He hopped off the counter and walked over to the couch where his shirt had been discarded onto the floor. Sheepishly he pulled it on and went back to his ice cream. "Trouble sleeping?" Annie couldn't muster up any words to respond with right now and simply nodded her head feverishly. "Anything I can get for you to help? Want some ice cream?"

Annie pondered this for a moment and then nodded her approval again. Jeff grinned and produced another spoon from the drawer nearest the refrigerator. He then hopped back up on the counter and scootched down to give Annie some room to sit next to him. Annie tentatively walked over, still trying to get her brain back on focus after it reloaded from seeing Jeff without his shirt on. This was far from the first time Annie had seen Jeff in such a state of undress but for whatever reason, tonight his body looked especially breathtaking, possibly due to the unusual lighting. She hopped up on the counter next to Jeff and he offered her the second spoon. She took it and took a large scoop of ice cream from the container. The sudden temperature shock from the frozen cream hitting her mouth snapped Annie out of her trance and she offered Jeff a small smile in thanks.

"Yeah, sleeping on that couch isn't exactly the most comfortable situation," Jeff explained as Annie took another spoonful of ice cream. "Especially since part of me still can't get over wondering about what Chang would do on it while he was staying here. So I decided a quick workout would do me some good and maybe tire me out enough to pass out. But now I just feel charged up even more so I needed some comfort food."

Without giving her brain time to keep up with what her mouth was saying, Annie blurted out, "Well, why don't you come sleep in your room with me?"

Jeff's eyebrows shot up so high that Britta would have been amazed they still fit on his large forehead. "You sure about that?"

"Well," Annie began nervously, her brain finally having caught up to allow her to actually think for once, "yeah, I would kind of like it. It's just a different feel for me in there and I'm feeling kinda lonely. Plus, I really don't want to put you out in your own home. You're the one who invited me here in the first place so it really wouldn't be fair if I was the only one to get a good night's sleep."

"Well, okay, if you're really sure, I'll sleep in my room with you." The two shared a small smile before Jeff got down off the counter to put the ice cream away. While he did that, Annie grabbed a cup from the cupboard and filled it with water from the sink. Jeff shut off the television and joined Annie in walking to his bedroom. Going on autopilot, Jeff turned the sheets down and climbed in while Annie was still standing at the foot, suddenly looking a bit apprehensive. Jeff put on his best reassuring face and patted the spot next to him, trying to make her feel safe and that he wasn't going to do anything to her. Finally, Annie slid back into the bed and Jeff pulled up the covers around her, tucking them just under her chin. He then slid his arm around behind her head and kissed her lightly on the forehead again. Annie smiled and turned over onto her side, pulling Jeff's other arm with her so the two of them were now spooning.

Annie's body felt electrified as she snuggled her body against Jeff's, trying to match the contour of his body with her own. She could feel every part of him that was touching her body and it felt absolutely incredible. Jeff was also feeling pretty good about his current status as he nuzzled his face into Annie's hair and against the back of her neck. Annie shook a little bit when he let out a breath that tickled her neck but sighed when Jeff's stubbly cheek brushed across it. If this wasn't heaven, Annie wouldn't have been able to tell what the real one looked and felt like because right now, she was in it as far as she was concerned.

"Your hair smells really nice," Jeff mumbled out from behind her. Annie blushed furiously and craned her head back to try and look at him. Jeff noticed her looking back and decided to make it easier on her neck by propping himself up on his elbow so he could look down on her.

"You feel really fantastic," Annie breathed out, wondering when her breath had gotten so short. Jeff smiled down at her, amazed at how much her eyes shone in the moonlight that was coming through the window. His fingers on his hand wrapped around her waist slowly began caressing her abdomen as he teased his pinky down under the hemline of her camisole and brushed across the skin just above her hipbone. Jeff's other hand found its way to her neck and he very gently stroked his way down it using only the outside of his forefinger. Annie couldn't help closing her eyes and emitting a relaxed sigh as Jeff petted her. She felt more beautiful in this one moment than she ever had before in her life since this amazing man was handling her like some priceless piece of art.

"Jeff," whispered Annie, reopening her eyes to gaze at him again. Jeff cocked his head to let her know she had his attention. "Could I please kiss you?"

Jeff froze for a moment, unsure if that was the wise course of action but he quickly discarded that notion as he reached up from her waist to wrap his hand around the back of Annie's head to pull her into a kiss. Annie let out a tiny whimper when their lips met and she rolled her body over onto her back and then her other side so she was now facing Jeff. She reached up with her free hand to palm the side of Jeff's face as their lips met again and again. After a moment of nothing but sweet, almost chaste kisses, Jeff's tongue ventured out and swirled over Annie's lips, requesting entrance inside of them. Annie granted his request and their tongues met inside of Annie's mouth, drawing low moans from the both of them.

Annie could not believe how good this felt to be making out with Jeff like this. Their previous kisses had been nothing like this and Annie was thrilled to find out those times he'd been holding back. She could understand why their kiss during the debate wasn't him at his best due to the shock of her initiating it like she did. But outside of the Tranny Dance, he'd given her the most amazing kiss she'd ever received in her life. Yet that seemed so insignificant to the kiss she was getting right now in his bed. She could feel that he was putting absolutely all of his romantic powers and skills into this kiss and she was loving every second of it. Although she couldn't help hoping that her relative inexperience wasn't ruining the feeling for him since she wouldn't feel right if Jeff was giving her the most amazing feeling ever and she was just merely passable to him.

Before Annie's brain could linger on that thought any longer, Jeff broke away from her lips and rested his forehead against hers, gasping for breath as if he'd just been drowning. Annie let out a small whine of protest that they had to break apart but also breathed out a blissful, "Wow…"

Jeff nodded in agreement and murmured, "Mm-hmm."

"How come you stopped though?" Annie pouted in a way meant to be more cute than offended.

"Because I had to tell you how much I've missed kissing you. Going as long as I did without doing it was as big of a mistake as not telling you how much I wanted to be with you."

Annie felt her heart beat about 50 times in five seconds after Jeff said that. He really was doing everything he could to make her feel amazing and she was really enjoying his methods so far. Annie closed the distance between them again and whispered in as sultry a voice as she could muster, "Maybe you should kiss me some more then to make up for all that lost time?"

Annie heard Jeff's breath hitch before he replied, "Miss Edison, I love the way you think sometimes." With that, he captured her lips once again and Annie once again was propelled beyond Cloud 9. This was a different kiss from Jeff though but equally as intense. Their initial one had been about tenderness and affection and being sweet. This kiss had far more lust and desire burning deep within it and Annie could swear she felt her tongue getting scorched from the heat of Jeff's passion. Jeff only built the intensity when he pushed himself up and directed Annie over onto her back and laid down on top of her while never breaking his concentration on kissing Annie with every bit of effort he could muster.

Annie reached up with both her hands and buried them into Jeff's hair, grabbing a fistful in each one. The more they kissed, the more Annie could feel her own personal desire growing. She'd never felt this way before about someone else. Even before the experience with losing her virginity turned into a complete disaster, she hadn't felt such a strong need to be pressed against someone like she did right now with Jeff. Annie kept getting surprised by all the naughty little thoughts floating into her head like how she wanted Jeff to rip her clothes off or fondle her breasts or fuck her until she passed out from ecstasy. These were all new feelings for Annie and they both frightened and excited her that Jeff Winger could bring such wants out of her.

Jeff began to progress towards some of those desires when he broke away from her lips once more only to reattach them to her neck seconds later. Annie let out a weird combination of a squeak and a moan as Jeff sucked on the soft flesh and very gently ground his teeth into it. Annie responded by dragging her nails down the back of Jeff's neck but felt disappointed when she quickly came to the collar of his shirt. Never before in her life had she been more disappointed that Jeff Winger wasn't shirtless at the moment. But she decided her wanton lust overrode the need to be smooth and so she jammed her hands up under the back of his shirt to resume running her nails down Jeff's firm, muscular back. Once she reached the waistband of his pajama pants, she decided she needed to feel a lot more skin and so she grabbed the bottom hem of Jeff's shirt and tugged it upwards in what she hoped was an indication that she wanted it off. Jeff correctly interpreted her desires and detached himself from her neck long enough for her to pull his shirt from his torso and discard it onto the floor.

Annie took the brief moment that Jeff had granted her from driving her wild to once again appreciate just how amazing Jeff's body was. Sure, she liked him for a whole lot more than just his body but she couldn't deny that having a friend who was this goddamn gorgeous was certainly a benefit. While Annie was appreciating all of Jeff's hard work he'd done on himself, Jeff was gazing down at Annie and doing the same thing. Her pale skin was positively shining from the moonlight and Jeff was mesmerized by her beauty. Normally when he had a beautiful woman in his bed and completely at his mercy, their body made him want nothing more than to ravage it and leave them a panting, sweaty puddle. But with Annie, his desires were to be far more gently and tender with his efforts. He knew that he was still extremely likely to leave her a incoherent mess should things progress that far but he wanted to do more than just have his way with her.

Jeff showed that by slipping his finger under the strap of her camisole and sliding it off her shoulder to fully expose her creamy skin. He then lightly kissed the area where the strap had been and progressed back towards Annie's chest, leaving a trail of gentle kisses all along her collarbone as he went. He then reached her other shoulder and repeated the same action of taking the strap down so he could kiss at her shoulder. Annie was positively writhing beneath him at this point and decided to progress things a little quicker as she reached up and pulled the front of her camisole down, exposing her bare breasts to Jeff. Jeff was a little taken aback by this sudden action from Annie but decided to give her what she appeared to want as he kissed his way back down her shoulder, over the swell of her breasts, down her breastbone, down underneath the bottom of her breast before finally coming back up and wrapping his mouth around her already hardened nipple.

Annie let out a guttural groan from way down in her belly as Jeff's mouth attached to her breast. Every time she thought that Jeff couldn't make her any more blissful than she was at the moment, he managed to top himself yet again. Annie let out a few very appreciative mewls as Jeff's tongue lightly danced around her peak before sucking on it forcefully, drawing out a shrill cry from Annie and causing her to involuntarily thrust her hips upward against Jeff's. Jeff let out a muffled groan from around her breast as Annie's groin collided with his and provided some very welcome friction against his very prominent erection. He then switched over to her other breast to lavish it with the same attention while Annie's vision fogged over and her toes curled beneath her.

Annie slowly became aware that the groin area of her fuzzy pink pajama pants was growing damper and damper with every passing second as her arousal continued to leak out of her from Jeff's tactics. Wanting something done about it, Annie pulled Jeff's head up away from her breast and forced him to look into her hazy eyes. "Jeff," she gasped out huskily, "I want you to make love to me. Will you please do that for me?"

Jeff let out another 1,000 watt smile as he climbed out of bed, much to Annie's confusion. He walked over to his dresser and opened up the top drawer and began rummaging around inside of it. He finally pulled out an elaborate candelabra and a lighter and began lighting the five candles currently housed in the holder. Once they were lit, he produced an iPod from the drawer and put it on top of his alarm clock. After perusing through his library for a moment, Jeff made his selection and soft piano and saxophone music started to play. And when Jeff turned back to face her with a look in his eyes that Annie could only describe as "smoldering," she was amazed that she managed to prevent her heart from exploding like a supernova right then and there.

"What's all this for," she asked with awed amazement.

"I heard about your disaster of a first time from Britta. So I want to make sure that your first time with me is done right for you so you can have a clean slate."

It took everything Annie had to not burst into tears and declare her undying love for him after that one. But she managed to keep her romantic feelings in check so that her lustful ones could run their course. As Jeff fished out a condom from his bedside table, Annie took the moment to peel her camisole from her body and toss it to the floor next to Jeff's shirt. Once he'd retrieved his prophylactic, Jeff kneeled down on the side of the bed and took Annie's hand and placed them on his sides. Annie sat up and gazed deeply into his eyes and she trailed her hands down to his pajama pants and slowly undid the drawstring. She then hooked her thumbs under the waistband of his pants and his underwear and slid them both down, causing Jeff's penis to spring forth into view. But Annie didn't notice it as her attention was still on Jeff's face as they both stared at each other with glazed-over eyes.

Once his pants had reached his knees, Jeff stood back up and slid them off the rest of his legs, leaving him completely naked in front of Annie. He slowly crawled back into bed and laid at Annie's side, pressing his body against the side of hers. Not wanting to waste too much more time, Jeff dipped his fingers underneath the waistband of Annie's fuzzy pajamas and gave them a tug, letting Annie know he wanted them off. Annie lifted up her hips and arched her back to give Jeff the access he needed to disrobe her further. Jeff began sliding her pants down at an agonizingly slow pace, wanting to take in every new micrometer of Annie's body as it became exposed to him. Finally, Annie's feet made their way out of her pajamas and he tossed them and her completely drenched panties to the floor.

Annie was surprised at how comfortable she felt with being completely naked in front of Jeff right now. A lot of it had to do with the way he was looking at her, though. She could see from his eyes that he found her completely beautiful and sexy and he saw no part of her he didn't find perfect. Jeff distractedly ran his fingers all over Annie's body, amazed that someone could look as absolutely perfect as she did. Hers was the type of beauty he could only imagine that the ancient storytellers had in mind when they were describing goddesses like Athena and Aphrodite. But Jeff was snapped out of his hypnotized trance by Annie clearing her throat and flicking her head over to the bedside table where the condom was still sitting.

Not wanting to keep his lady waiting any longer, Jeff unwrapped the condom from the foil wrapping and carefully slid it down over his cock, taking extra care to make sure it didn't break or wasn't bunched anywhere. When he was sure he was ready, he carefully perched himself over Annie's bare body, knowing she was still mostly new to sex and not wanting to rush anything for her sake. Annie spread her legs apart to expose herself further to Jeff while he positioned himself in the opening she'd just created on the bed. With great care, Jeff slowly dipped his hips down until he felt his cock brush against Annie's entrance, bringing a moan from the brunette. After one final moment of anticipation, Jeff slid himself between Annie's folds and carefully thrust inside of her.

"Oh fuck, Jeff," Annie groaned out as Jeff continued to bury himself inside of her.

"Are you okay? Should I stop?"

"Oh god no," she breathed back raggedly, "you just feel so fucking good. Please don't stop."

Jeff smirked at hearing such filthy language coming from his sweet, little Annie's mouth but decided to give her what she wanted as he pulled himself out of her slowly before plunging back in again. Annie squealed out and her hands clamped to her breasts as Jeff repeated his thrusting in and out of her. While Jeff kept one hand braced on the bed for leverage, his free hand found its way down to Annie's ass and gave it a firm squeeze. Annie raised her hips up to allow Jeff greater access to her ass just as he drove back down inside of her and Annie swore she felt his penis hit her heart with how deeply it sank into her. Wanting to feel that again, Annie waited for Jeff to slide into her again before she thrust her hips up to meet him there. Both of the lovers couldn't stifle a moan from this.

Sensing Annie wanted more pressure, Jeff decided to show her one of the many tricks he'd picked up as he grabbed onto her silky leg and lifted it up until it was resting on his shoulder. He then did the same with her other leg so they were now pinned up next to his head. Jeff then gave her a test thrust to make sure she'd like how this felt and was rewarded with a joyful cry from Annie. Satisfied with the result, Jeff once again resumed the cadence he'd built up so that the sounds of their skin slapping together matched up with Annie's labored whimpers.

Without warning, Annie felt her climax rip through her and she loudly groaned out Jeff's name while clutching onto the pillow behind her head. Jeff was stunned that he'd gotten her off already with so little buildup but managed to keep his tempo steady so that her orgasm would last as long as possible. He had to struggle to keep his own orgasm in check as the sensations of Annie clenching down around him was causing a very pleasant amount of pressure on Jeff but he knew he wasn't ready for this to be over with. Finally Annie's orgasm subsided and she went limp from all the effort, her legs tumbling down from around Jeff's shoulders and hitting the bed with a soft plop. Jeff decided to give her a short break and while still inside her, he leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss. It took Annie a moment to register that he was kissing her but she quickly began kissing him back once she became aware of what was going on.

"That sounded like it was fun," Jeff mumbled against her lips.

"Mmm," Annie moaned back in confirmation, a dopey little smile plastered on her face. "That was amazing. Do you mind if we change things up a bit though?"

"Anything for my Annie," Jeff answered as he took Annie's hand and placed a kiss on her palm. "Did you have anything specific in mind?"

"I'd kind of like to be on top, if that's okay?"

Jeff smiled and nodded as he placed his hands on Annie's back to brace her against him. He then rolled onto his back while keeping himself inside of Annie. Once she felt secured, Annie sat up on her knees and wriggled around to get used to her new surroundings. Now it was Jeff's turn to get foggy as all the gyrating Annie was doing against him was creating some amazing feelings in his groin. Annie felt Jeff's fingers clench into her hips and saw his eyes roll back in his head and deduced she must be doing something good to him. She repeated the move she'd just done and watched as Jeff's teeth clenched together and heard him let out a low hiss of breath.

Excited with how she was pleasing Jeff, Annie decided to experiment further by lifting her hips up off of his throbbing member and dropped them back down over it quickly. Jeff jolted as if he'd been shocked and breathed out Annie's name. Hearing Jeff moan her name while she was perched on top of his pulsing cock may have been the most erotic thing Annie had ever experienced and she wanted to make it happen more and more. Once again, she slid herself off of Jeff and then back down but didn't stop once she'd felt him fill her entirely. Annie kept right on going with her new trick she'd discovered until she was bouncing up and down on top of Jeff.

Jeff could feel the familiar haze building up in his mind that meant that his release was close to arriving. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life than Annie Edison sitting naked on top of him, riding him as hard as she could, her familiar look of intense determination fixed on her face. To help make things easier for her, Jeff gave her some support by grabbing firmly onto her ass with one hand and clamped the other one to one of her breasts. When he braced her with both hands at the same time, Annie was able to get more control over her movements and have a more consistent tempo.

With Jeff now supporting her body, Annie allowed her upper body to relax a little bit as she leaned back and threw her head back while continuing to bounce herself on top of Jeff. Annie had never understood why there was all this hype and importance given to sex in the media but tonight, she completely understood it. This was more that just sex, this was like sex plus and Jeff Winger had a PhD and Annie loved all the education he was giving her right now. But she knew that in order to be the top of the class, she needed to pass his exam. So Annie redoubled her efforts, craving the feeling of him releasing deep inside her.

It didn't take too much longer for Jeff to reach his apex and as he felt his release building, he grabbed Annie by the back of her head and pulled her head down so he could look into her eyes. The first wave of his climax tore through him and Jeff let out an almighty groan and his eyes grew as wide as they possibly could. With every new pulse from his cock, Jeff groaned out Annie's name, never taking his eyes off of hers as his climax continued to rock him. The combination of Jeff's glazed-over eyes, the sound of hearing him moan her name and feeling his cock twitching inside of her sent Annie over the edge once again. Her second orgasm was even more powerful than her first and Annie couldn't even find the voice to moan or groan or cry out. Instead all she managed were a few sharp gasps. Annie felt like she'd been hit by a tidal wave and it took everything she had left in her to keep her focus on Jeff's eyes as an anchor.

As their orgasms subsided, Annie collapsed down onto Jeff and the two spent the next few minutes clutching onto each other's sweat-slicked bodies, trying to regain normal pulses and breathing. Jeff felt himself slide out of Annie's pussy but he paid no mind to that as he was still too focused on how good Annie's naked flesh felt against his own. Once the adrenaline had worn off, both Jeff and Annie felt completely spent and exhausted. Annie slid down from sitting on top of Jeff and snuggled up against his side. Jeff pulled the sheets back over them and within minutes, the two lovers had passed out into a deep sleep.

When Annie awoke the next morning, she was confused as to why she was in an unfamiliar place, naked and feeling sticky. But then as Jeff let out a light snore from beside her, everything came flooding back. Annie let out a serene smile as she laid back down on Jeff's naked chest, listening to the soft thumping of his heart. Her mind reeled a little bit thinking about all that had taken place last night on top of what had just happened over the weekend and now they had to get up and head back to school at Greendale like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Thankfully, both their Monday classes were afternoon ones so there was no real rush to get themselves up and ready.

Annie placed a lazy kiss on Jeff's chest, right over his heart that caused Jeff to stir awake. He blinked a few times and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes only to find Annie lying buck naked on his bed, resting her head on his chest and making doe eyes at him. Jeff beamed and decided he could really get used to waking up like this. He reached up to run his fingers through her shining chocolate hair and leaned forward to place a tender kiss on her forehead.

"Good morning, gorgeous," Jeff said blearily, stifling a yawn as he did. "How did you sleep last night?"

"I slept great. Your bed is so comfy and having someone like you to snuggle with all night was so peaceful and relaxing. I'm glad I asked you to come sleep in here."

"Boy, am I glad you did too," Jeff replied with only the slightest hint of mischief in his voice.

"Also," she continued, not picking up on the suggestive tone to Jeff's reply, "I really wanted to thank you for asking me to stay here last night. I think had I tried to stay alone in my room, I'd have been so miserable and lonely and I wouldn't have had a very good night at all. So thanks for needing to be with me because I really think I needed to be with you too."

"It really means a lot to hear you say that," Jeff mumbled thickly, still idly playing with her hair as she talked.

"And I've given your proposition from yesterday a lot of thought. And I've come to the conclusion that it would be an absolute delight to be your girlfriend Jeff Winger."

Jeff gave a small little victory smile at this and pulled her up for a deep kiss. Once they broke apart, Jeff couldn't help asking her, "It was the sex that clinched it for you, wasn't it?"

Annie let out a little exasperated laugh and rolled her eyes at him. "While the sex certainly is a bonus that I'm eagerly looking forward to capitalizing on over and over again, no, the clincher was the way you made me look into your eyes last night when you were cumming. Because that's when I knew that it was really me you were thinking about and that was making you feel like that. I saw so much honesty in your eyes right there that I knew you were being honest when you said you'd do anything to make me happy. So that's when I knew that I would love to be with you."

Jeff was a bit blown away by this answer and could only muster out, "Good choice." Annie smiled and snuggled back down into his chest while he wrapped his arms around her and held her close against him. "So, we've got plenty of time to kill before we have to be to class. What do you suggest we do with the time," asked Jeff.

"Well, first I think we should go take a shower together to get ourselves cleaned up. Then I thought I'd make you a nice breakfast for taking such good care of me this weekend. And then we should probably study a bit before class since between the roadtrips and the hospitals and the mind-blowing sex, we kind of lost the entire weekend." Jeff couldn't help laughing and shaking his head in amusement at her. No matter what, she was always still going to be Annie and her studies were never going to be put on the back burner for too long. Annie was confused by why he was laughing and asked, "What?"

"Nothing, you're just really cute is all. Please just do me one favor though. Don't ever change yourself for me. I like you just the way you are and that's the way I have liked you for three years now. So don't think that you need to start dressing sluttier or anything like that to try to please me. What will please me most is seeing my Annie."

"It's a deal," she answered and gave him a tender kiss. Jeff grabbed onto both sides of Annie's face as he kissed her deeper, hoping he never grew tired of the feeling of his and Annie's tongues intertwining. Annie's hands found their way to Jeff's broad shoulders and she rubbed them softly while the two continued to kiss passionately. Finally the two spent all their air and needed to break apart to breathe, which they both gulped down in huge breaths.

"I love you Annie," whispered Jeff softly. He didn't know what brought him to tell her that now but he could definitely feel that he meant it and probably had for awhile now.

"I love you Jeff," she answered, sniffling a little bit from what he just said. After one final kiss, the two decided it was a good time to start their day and so they headed off for a shower together to clean themselves up from the events of the previous night. Jeff took a moment to clean up the candles from the night that had burned themselves out and left a good buildup of wax on the top couldn't help but smile as he watched Annie's naked backside disappear through the door and into the bathroom. Once he had cleaned everything up, Jeff joined Annie in the bathroom so they could start the first day of their new life together.

**_FIN_**


End file.
